Lakers getting better will benefit us.

[mr. dee]

Forget about the rivalry for a moment. Either teams won't be a real contender, anyway.

Lakers are two wins away from taking Nets spot which is the 3rd worst record. They almost came close in beating the Thunder yesterday. I don't think they will reach the playoffs, even with the current state of western conference but I think they will improve after the all star break, unless their front office decided to take the Sixers route.

[CroCorvus]

Are you serious? Have you watched any of their games? They are benching Kobe in close games, they moved Russel and Randle from the starting lineup and now they are coming from the bench playing 20 something minutes. Yeah, Scott isn't great but he is also making sure they play like crap. They are not that bad like their record suggests but oh boy, they are tanking. They have zero incentive to not tank. They are not nearly a contender. Their pick is top 3 protected, otherwise goes to Philly. They are gathering quality young players and picks along with next season cap space which should put them in a nice position....

The only way to keep BKN pick in the top 3 is eventually another major injury happening to Lopez or Young and that's it. Lakers and Sixers are not gonna finish with better record then Brooklyn and it's about time that we all accept it. Phoenix is atrocious and they are our major treat to suck more then Nets...

[chambers]

Are you serious? Have you watched any of their games? They are benching Kobe in close games, they moved Russel and Randle from the starting lineup and now they are coming from the bench playing 20 something minutes. Yeah, Scott isn't great but he is also making sure they play like crap. They are not that bad like their record suggests but oh boy, they are tanking. They have zero incentive to not tank. They are not nearly a contender. Their pick is top 3 protected, otherwise goes to Philly. They are gathering quality young players and picks along with next season cap space which should put them in a nice position....

The only way to keep BKN pick in the top 3 is eventually another major injury happening to Lopez or Young and that's it. Lakers and Sixers are not gonna finish with better record then Brooklyn and it's about time that we all accept it. Phoenix is atrocious and they are our major treat to suck more then Nets...

Actually moving the rookies to the bench has helped them win games. It means Clarkson and Kobe get the majority of shots in the starting line up and Randle and Russell aren't hindered by Kobe's ball dominance.

Phoenix are still better than the Lakers and the Nets.
Tyson Chandler, TJ Warren and Archie Goodwin are all back now.
They had a horrible stretch when Chandler+Warren+Goodwin were out,  and then Bledsoe went down, but they'll start winning more games now they've got some decent players back.
Even without Bledsoe they're better than the Nets.

[SHAQATTACK]

Lakers have a tanking Coach .  He could care less about winning .  His job and pay check are secure till which point Mitch decides the team is built back up strong enough to make the playoffs .  Then he ll be fired for a real coach.

Lakers FO has this team rigged to fail .  Bass at center.

[CroCorvus]

Are you serious? Have you watched any of their games? They are benching Kobe in close games, they moved Russel and Randle from the starting lineup and now they are coming from the bench playing 20 something minutes. Yeah, Scott isn't great but he is also making sure they play like crap. They are not that bad like their record suggests but oh boy, they are tanking. They have zero incentive to not tank. They are not nearly a contender. Their pick is top 3 protected, otherwise goes to Philly. They are gathering quality young players and picks along with next season cap space which should put them in a nice position....

The only way to keep BKN pick in the top 3 is eventually another major injury happening to Lopez or Young and that's it. Lakers and Sixers are not gonna finish with better record then Brooklyn and it's about time that we all accept it. Phoenix is atrocious and they are our major treat to suck more then Nets...

Actually moving the rookies to the bench has helped them win games. It means Clarkson and Kobe get the majority of shots in the starting line up and Randle and Russell aren't hindered by Kobe's ball dominance.

Phoenix are still better than the Lakers and the Nets.
Tyson Chandler, TJ Warren and Archie Goodwin are all back now.
They had a horrible stretch when Chandler+Warren+Goodwin were out,  and then Bledsoe went down, but they'll start winning more games now they've got some decent players back.
Even without Bledsoe they're better than the Nets.

I can't completely agree with you that moving rookies to the bench help them win more games (because it did and they did won some games). The main reason behind that few wins are they are playing more games together and to some point weak schedule. As I said in previous post they are not second worst team in the league (owners and GM want's them to be but the players know they are not that bad and they will not tank). If you look at their roster you could see a bunch of new players who are playing together for the first time. Plus it is reasonable to expect some moves from Kupchack to further worsen the team in exchange for some prospects and picks. So no, they will not surpass the Nets you can bet on it. They would be stupid if they do.

At the moment the Suns are better then the Nets but not in the long run. I expect they will get worse, a lot worse after the deadline. They will try to trade Chandler, Mirza, Tucker, Morris..